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“Yes, she is. Why?” I narrow my eyes.
“Can you send her in? I need to look at what I have scheduled for the rest of the day.”
We both look at my dad incredulously.
“Dad, I don’t think you need to worry about that.” I shake my head. “Sammy will organize everything for you and cancel whatever you need. Plus, I’m here now. I can cover things.”
Dad scoffs. “I should be out of here tomorrow, so I don’t think I need her to reschedule too much.”
I’d almost laugh if this wasn’t so serious. “Dad, come on now, you’re in hospital, for heaven’s sake! You can’t be serious?”
Linda folds her arms across her chest and sighs. I don’t know how she puts up with his stubbornness sometimes.
“I have cases, Hartley. You should know that better than anyone. And I can’t cancel on clients at the last minute. They have busy lives.”
“You can if you’re in the hospital, Jim! You need to concentrate on yourself and your health,” Linda says.
“Linda is right, dad.” He knows it, he’s just too stubborn to admit it, and he’s a workaholic. “Did anyone call Patrick yet?”
Linda nods. “Yes, he’s on standby. He was going into a big surgery this afternoon, so I’ve left him a message.”
It would be beyond Patrick to jump on a plane to come to dad’s aid, so I wouldn’t expect that from him.
“Sammy!” Dad calls out as the nurse walks back in to check him over and make sure he’s comfortable.
Sammy’s head pokes in the doorway as he ushers her in.
“We need to talk about my schedule,” he says.
She walks in tentatively, clutching his precious diary. “Yes, Mr. Chambers.”
I still haven’t heard her call him Jim to this day, and she’s been working for him since he started the firm five years ago.
“Dad, you need to slow down,” I interject. “Sammy has filled me in on some things in the car. I can get up to speed with Regina before Friday’s meeting. She said you had a big client wrapping up his divorce. I’m happy to step in. Divorces are my specialty, after all.”
Dad listens as the nurse works around him. “Hartley, you can't expect to have a discussion with Regina, read the case file and immediately jump in at the drop of a hat.”
“Dad, you need to trust me. That’s why I’m here now, remember?”
He softens back. I know it’s hard for him to let go of control. This was always going to be a factor coming here. But he was the one who wanted me to come here. The sooner he realizes things have to change, the better. I guess neither of us thought it was going to be this soon.
“We’ll talk,” he says. “But yes, Mr. Bassett is a big client, and I have a lot of time for the man. His ex-wife is proving to be a bigger pain in the ass than we first thought. So, yes. I will have you jump in with Regina. She’s been working closely with me on his divorce and another recent property dispute case.”
Oh, the joys. Sometimes I wonder if there’s an easier way to make a living..
Though I vowed when I became a lawyer that I wanted to help people and be the voice for those that really needed it. I always try to take cases where I gel with the client. Maybe that’s been my downfall in the past, because I won’t just take on any case. Things need to fit before we get to do business.
This is how I am, and the only way I can be.
“Let’s not worry about that now, okay? I’ll look after it Dad, you can count on me.”
Dad smiles and takes a few slow breaths. “Thank you, honey. It’s good to have you here, Hartley. Linda and I have been looking forward to it.”
Linda smiles warmly, and my chest constricts.
“I’m happy to be here,” I say. I'll do everything I can to ease my dad's burden. Now is the time he needs me the most.
I end up staying at dad and Linda’s house on my first night home, and I don’t mind one bit because I get to snuggle with Barney as he slept at the foot of my bed. It got too late to pick up my keys from the realtor for my townhouse, so I'll go there first thing in the morning after breakfast. They keep dad in overnight to run more tests, including bloods and a stress test. I’m glad that he’s being monitored through the night. By Linda’s mid-morning update, dad is doing well. We both know he’s lucky it wasn’t any more serious than angina.
